131mirafiori forum

Thought ye' all might be interested in this little mini-saga
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This car came to our attention last night.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1977-Fiat-131-Special_W0QQitemZ280058364403QQihZ018QQcategoryZ18305QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280058364403

We asked the President of the Fiat club of GB if he was aware of it and had anyone seen/inspected the car recently.

His reply this morning was
"Hi Lads, I have asked our resident 131 experts and they don't think it's worth anything. They have already checked it out and would not recommend it.
Regards"

So just in case anyone else had spotted it, ye' now have the lowdown on the car, for free!!
Regards, Graham.

This is the second time that this car has appeared on ebay in the last few weeks, and has been discussed a great deal between us 131 fans ever since.

The first advert was placed by a guy in Sutton, Surrey, selling it for a friend in Poland, where the car was at the time. The second advert had the same guy selling it, but the ad lead people to believe that the car was now in the UK, but needing UK registration.

There are a number of things that rang alarm bells among us, namely

1) Why would a guy be selling a car from the UK when it was still in Poland, where no-one could see it.
2) Photos of the car taken before and during the restoration show it to be a very rusty example. What lies 'lurking' beneath the shiny black paint?
3) If the car is not UK registered it means that it is certainly needs an MoT (which is a requirement of the UK Dept of Transport) prior to registration, (it doesn't need an SVA!) which was likely to incur a very high cost considering the pre-restoration state of the car. Also the advert states that the 'underneath OK' - read into this what you like.
4) Central locking and electric windows have also been fitted, which means that the electrics have been modified - who knows to what standard.
5) White roof and incorrect interior re-trim, coupled to non-standard wheels and left-hand drive, all wrapped up in a ?1,000 starting price, with the reserve not met.

I realise that I am very sceptical and also a purist, so this car doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, but common sense alone must tell anyone with a little savvy that buying this car will be a painful - in so many ways.

Incidentally, I assume that you communicated with Peter Jones of the FMC(GB) who is actually the Chairman, not the President ;D. He may have asked some of the 'resident 131 experts' but he certainly didn't ask me...which is a little surprising as I am the 131 Registrar and Vice-Chairman of the same club ???

Graham, if you want to know about a 131 please ask here first as the chances are we have already discused it ;D ;D and our advice is always free!

Thank you for your comprehensive posting, re:131 with a Polish accent.
I found it quite illuminating, as you can imagine.
Your offer of help and support is also very much appreciated.

I think that it is fantastic to see that there is a person of your calibre monitoring this forum.

If in the future, I stumble across another UK based 131 that catches my interest, may I ask you for your opinion of it ?

Regards, Graham.

Graham,

We positively welcome people's questions. ;D So please feel free to ask whatever questions you like about any 131 here on the forum. ;D We'll be delighted to help in any way we can ;D

Thank you for your kind comments. There is a wealth of knowledge held among those of us who post on this site - I am just one opinion? :D. The three main contributors to this site (Kev131, Thotos and myself) have an in-depth knowledge and personal experience of 131s of all types, and can talk for weeks about the cars, so beware - once you get us started talking about 131s we will have difficulty stopping! ;D ;D ;D

We also have Worldwide interest in this site, places as far away as the USA, Ethiopia and Australia, not to mention most of the countries in Europe, so between us all we should be able to answer most 131 related queries.

Please stay with us and ask anything 131 related you like.

Simon131

 

This Polish Fiat was not apparently sold, according to E-Bay

With a starting bid above what the car is worth and a reserve even higher, I am not surprised!

It's back on eBay again with a starting bid of ?1400 and no reserve this time.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1977-Fiat-131-Special_W0QQitemZ280069560695QQihZ018QQcategoryZ18305QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Well spotted, Sir !